In an effort to explain not making AYP, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum at Dunlap Schools, pointed out specifically that the school's African-American students and students with IEPs "did not meet AYP standards."
Dunlap’s black student population is shown on the School Report Card as 5.9%. The percentage of students shown with IEPs is 7.5%. Those two sub-groups together = 13.4% of the student population. Schools need to meet or exceed 85% to make AYP. Without the two sub-groups mentioned Dunlap would be at 86.6%.
Therefore, the African-American and IEP students alone, could not stop Dunlap Schools from making AYP. Additionally, if any of the students from the first sub-group are a part of the second sub-group, that statement becomes even more erroneous.
91 comments:
On the one hand you have Quest Charter Academy saying they can take African-American students and make AYP; over here you have Dunlap saying they can't make AYP with African-American students.
What's really true people?
With all due respect, you're mixing numbers and concepts. First, as you later suggest might be the case, some in the first sub-group ARE part of the second subgroup.
Nonetheless, the biggest erroneous assumption is that you evidently assume ALL of the African-American and IEP students did not meet AYP (you subtracted 13.4% from 100%).
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, a school can have 99% meets/exceeds as a whole and STILL not make AYP if just one subgroup (with at least 45 students) does not meet the target (there is also a safe harbor target, which is a bit more complicated).
For an extreme example, you could have 1,000 students in a school, 50 of whom (5%) are of a particular subgroup measured by NCLB. Assume that just 10 of those fifty can not meet AYP target, meaning the % for that group is 80%. Now assume every other single student can meet/exceed, all 950 (plus the 40 in the subgroup). That's 990 students out of 1,000 - or 99% overall. But because the 1 subgroup does not meet the target (80% instead of 85%), the whole school does not meet AYP.
Emerge: if you have 46 or more students in any subgroup, you must claim their scores with respect to AYP. Obviously, Dunlap has MORE than 46 African-American children and more than 46 children with IEP's. It's not a percentage, per se, it's actualy bodies.
On second thought, I think you were purposely making the first two mistaken assumptions, to show that even in such an extreme case, the score couldn't go down below 85% unless SOME other students didn't meet/exceed.
However, that's where the 3rd point comes in - it's not merely about the overall score - any one subgroup can cause a school to not meet AYP even if every other student passes. (the idea, of course, being that a school isn't really doing that well unless ALL students do well - well intentioned, but misguided in application).
Also, I highly doubt Quest will meet AYP. I think they essentially got a pass their first year, either because they were a new school and/or some component of safe harbor. That won't last.
Meeting AYP doesn't mean Quest, or any other school isn't doing well. It's just that they can't meet unreasonable targets (though every school should still try).
New Trier High School in Winnetka - considered to be one of the best high schools in the state, did not meet AYP in 2010/2011. See their AYP report at the following link:
http://iirc.niu.edu/School.aspx?source=AYP_Information&source2=AYP_Report&schoolID=050162030170001&level=S
All students as a whole met AYP in reading and math - at about 89% and 90%. However, the students with disabilities subgroup did not meet the safe harbor target in Math (they did meet it in reading). As a result, the whole school is considered to have not met AYP.
The article specifically said:
"The reason? The school district's subgroups of African-American students and students with disabilities did not meet AYP standards."
Ms. Anderson did not clarify otherwise.
And Jon, you are correct, "even in such an extreme case, the score couldn't go down below 85% unless SOME other students didn't meet/exceed."
This post is not about the losing battle that is making AYP, it is about the statement made by the Dunlap Administrator.
Emerge - I have no idea why you think the statement is incorrect - or needs further clarification. I pointed out the flaws in your argument. I showed you both a hypothetical and actual (that New Trier post was mine) example of how, in fact, ANY subgroup can cause a school not to meet AYP, even IF all students as a whole ARE meeting AYP.
When the full school report card is issued and available on the website, Dunlap's AYP will be similar to what is shown for New Trier - as a whole, all students will make MORE than 85%, but two subgroups will not. How is that NOT the reasons why a school doesn't make AYP?
Jon,
This post is about the specific statement made by Ms. Anderson in the newspaper. It is not about the intricacies of what all goes into a school making AYP.
The fact that we're all confused by all these numbers and percentages should prove something. NCLB stinks--pure and simple. Of course, Dunlap had white students (maybe even as many as the black students) who didn't make AYP, but they had enough white students who went way beyond AYP to carry the others.
You can make these numbers and percentages mean anything you want them to mean. Schools would be so much better off if we got rid of the whole federal evaluation system--it divides and doesn't conquer anything.
I've said over and over again, we should have some other way of dividing kids up for evaluation--race doesn't do it any more. Economic level is probably a better way of grouping--it isn't perfect but economic status is a much better predictor.
"So, it is safe to assume that Ms. Anderson meant every African-American student and every student with an IEP did not make AYP."
That is a completely erroneous assumption. I also have no idea why you quote the number of students, but I'll again use an example, this time with those numbers.
Take those 66 African-American Students. Suppose 50 meet/exceed. That means only 76% meet/exceed and therefore the school does not meet AYP (regardless of what the rest of the students do/don't do). There's no assumption needed that ALL African-American students didn't meet. In that example, nearly 3/4 of that subgroup DOES meet AYP, but the school still does NOT.
"The fact that we're all confused by all these numbers and percentages should prove something."
That most U.S. high school and/or college graduates aren't very good at math? :)
Seriously, this is about analyzing issues. You DO need to look at race, at economic status, at disability. Prior to NCLB those groups were even more neglected of consideration. "Hey, our school does well overall - but our Hispanic students? Well, not so much, but...overall we're good." And yes, the overall numbers might be good, but when one group isn't performing as well (which first of all you need to collect the data to see if that's in fact the case) you need to try and figure out why and what you can do to address it.
" It was not necessary to point to the sub-groups, because there are extenuating factors."
And then you'd have people complaining that the district wasn't being transparent enough.
Seriously....damned if you do, damned if you don't.
African-American students get a bad enough rap as it is from District 150. The statement made by Dunlap Schools, hurts.
The statement Ms. Anderson made was cut and dried. If the subject matter was not equally cut and dried, she should not have made the statement.
The general public does not understand what is meant when a school administrator says to the newspaper reporter that a specific sub-group did not meet standards, therefore the school did not meet standards.
Perhaps Ms. Anderson should have said "because the requirement that all sub-groups meet AYP, Dunlap High School fell short."
It was not necessary to point to the sub-groups, because there are so many extenuating factors that go into a school making AYP.
The fact that they are "surprised" by the scores of the African-American sub-group, paints a certain picture and requires clarification. One could even take from her statement that even the students with disabilities performed better than African-American students.
Sorry, Sharon, I accidentally deleted your statement.
I agree with Emerge. The Dunlap representative did not phrase the matter very well. She could have stated, "well, there are a number of factors in achieving AYP and some of our subgroups were unable to demonstrate the progress required by the State. Meeting AYP is a difficult challenge for all schools and the data reveals that we need greater focus in some areas."
Emerge - do you know if Dunlap has any special programs for minority students related to academic support?
I just attended a special meeting for African American and Latino parents at our new school, which is primarily white and solidly middle class. At the meeting they explained a program of support for these "subgroups" and their parents. One of the main features of the program is tutoring and mentoring. Also, there is support offered to students in the college search process. One of the great things was that, it was minority parents that were in part the leaders and volunteers for this program. Seemed very cool at first blush, but I still need to learn more. A school like Dunlap would seem to be able to easily replicate such a program.
Frustrated,
No, I don't know if they have such a program at Dunlap. A Dunlap Board member commented above, maybe that person could let us know if they have any type of orientation for specific sub-groups.
"The statement Ms. Anderson made was cut and dried. If the subject matter was not equally cut and dried, she should not have made the statement."
This wasn't a press release from the school. This quote was in a Journal Star article. We have no idea what the context of Ms. Anderson's statement was. While being interviewed by the reporter, she may have gone into great detail explaining the nuances of AYP and NCLB, but the reporter decided to use only that quote -- that "sound bite," if you will -- in the article.
I see your concern with how African Americans were portrayed in the article. But I think you're being a little hasty pointing the finger at Ms. Anderson. There are other factors that can account for how the facts were cast.
To further CJ's comment, let's take a look at who said what exactly.
Clearly, Andersen said the following:
"We knew it was going to be difficult to make AYP with our students with disabilities," said Lonna Anderson, assistant superintendent for curriculum at Dunlap. "But the scores for African-American students were really a surprise. That was not expected. It really causes us to go back and ask ourselves questions."
But what about this?
"And Dunlap Community Unit District 323, the district that's home to Dunlap High School, has joined the increasingly long list of school districts that did not make AYP overall...The reason? The school district's subgroups of African-American students and students with disabilities did not meet AYP standards."
The writer of the article said that. Perhaps Pam Adams needs some sensitivity training :)
C.J.,
Hasty? I think not. Ms. Anderson or the Article said Ms. Anderson said (that's @ Jon):
"We knew it was going to be difficult to make AYP with our students with disabilities," said Lonna Anderson, assistant superintendent for curriculum at Dunlap. "But the scores for African-American students were really a surprise. That was not expected. It really causes us to go back and ask ourselves questions."
She didn't say a percentage of African-American students - she said "African American students."
Somebody may need sensitivity training, but I don't think it's Pam Adams.
Wow - talk about looking for something you evidently want to see...
Simply put - you're reading something into the statement that is NOT there. And yet, what you criticize Anderson for - you give Adams a pass.
Emerge is right. The subject is sensitive to the black community. Those in positions of authority should take better care when they talk about such a sensitive subject matter.
Amazing. Just amazing. I agree with Jon and CJ Yet you hand Adams a pass.
Again, am I wrong in saying that there were probably as many white kids who did not make AYP but enough really bright white kids carried the others to AYP. NCLB makes it all about number--it should be all about people. I know that's trite--but I don't think that talking about subgroups and percentages, etc., is helping anything.
C.J.--good to see you weighing in on these issues.
Randall has weighed in. Fini
Perhaps I should follow Jim Stowell's advice - don't blog while drinking :)
I read the very same article online before it was posted on the blog and thought the same thing Emerge did. Disgusting. Then I asked, "Was someone really this dumb and brainless to say such a thing, or was the Journal Star just trying to sell papers??" Either answer is repulsive...especially knowing that some copy editor HAD to have previewed it before it went to print...
Apparantly the point of this blog/article is that if african american students didn't meet the standards then to say it is being racist and it is much better to ignore the issue rather than address it. I think that has been Don Jackson's philosophy on crime and city's and school district's ostrich mentality. If it were a group of asian student, or Polish students then it would be completely okay to report that they were a subgroup that didn't meet standards. The problem isn't the reporting of the subgroups, the problem is that we are to look the other way when it is CERTAIN subgroups? (undoubltedly I will be called an ignorant racist and have the comment deleted).
I am not clear on whether it was Dunlap High School's African-American students who did not meet AYP or the District African-American subgroup that did not meet AYP. If it is only the High School's African-American subgroup understand that a subgroup can also not meet AYP if not enough members were tested. For example, if there are 50 African-American students and only 25 test than that subgroup would not meet AYP.
To my knowledge there are no specific orientation groups for minority students at Dunlap High.
I think too much is being read into a 1 sentence quote in the PJS.
Assume that there are 1200 students and 70 members make up a subgroup (approx. 5.8% of the student body). Then additionally assume that of such subgroup 12 students fail to meet or exceed. Also assume that these 12 are the only students who fail to meet or exceed. Then the subgroup would be at 83% resulting in both the subgroup and entire the school failing. this occurs even though a total of 1188 students out of a student body of 1200 (99%)actually met standards.
Is this the way it works?
If I am correct in my understanding of the mechanics, then, with all due respect Emerge, I don't see what your numbers necessarily demonstrate.
I do understand that the language chosen in the description given by the administrator was clearly wanting whatever the numbers show.
Stop with the numbers already. The statement was offensive.
Emerge, it's embarrassing that you even had to say this, but you really had no need to go beyond the original point: "The statement made by Dunlap schools, hurts." You should not have had to say anything more.....
Ok, Janet, what was the statement made by Dunlap and how was it offensive? (and of course, but irrelevant to the question, the topic as "fact checking" and the fact IS correct)?
I agree with Emerge and Janet. As a special education person, I have heard some pretty appalling references to students with disabilities when referring to making/not making AYP. Administrators need to be sensitive about this topic.
Thanks for bringing our attention to this, Emerge!
The sad part about this whole post is that the original intent of NCLB was to make sure that schools were not ignoring their poverty and minority students. That is why the overall population AND each individual sub group has to make AYP in order to be considered passing. Before NCLB many schools were not concerened about the fact that they were ignoring the low end students and guiding them to wage slave jobs.
Jon, it offended the author of this blog...I have nothing more to say.
Pretty weak, Janet.
I love Emerge, but I'm not afraid to call her out when I think she's wrong...especially when I've been drinking....
...yeah, I do: she said, "HURTS" and she should have had to say no more....
Then call me weak, Jon. I'd rather be called that than take any other stand. Have a good evening.
Truth hurts. Truth enlightens. Truth Inspires. Truth helps create change.
Jon just likes to argue.
Yep...but I pick my battles.
I haven't been able to come to the conclusion that Emerge was wrong. Dunlap is looking for an excuse for not making AYP. Many schools in the upper economic brackets that are now not making AYP because the stakes are higher will be looking for the same excuses.
I think the more subtle purpose of NCLB had nothing to do with putting an end to ignoring minority students and those of lower economic status. Maybe I'm too much of a cynic--maybe NCLB just backfired. So far all it's done is call negative attention to those students who don't make AYP--and has, therefore, caused parents of students who do make AYP to flee from the schools that don't make AYP.
The parents of students who don't make AYP blame the teachers; the parents of students who do make AYP just get out of the schools so that their children don't carry the stigma of going to a failing school. Now tell me how that has helped public education in America.
Jon, does just like to argue--but it's always with numbers.
a) I am not African American so can't fully grasp how an African American would feel after reading the comment.
b) Emerge is African American and has stated that she is hurt.
c) I respect Emerge and her opinions so I would agree with the statement, "This statement in the paper could be hurtful to African Americans."
Here on this blog, we have a pretty good understanding of the unreasonableness of NCLB. We also have seen with our own eyes how PJStar contorts information regarding schools to fit into their perception of what is happening with education. The problem is the majority of people reading the paper have neither bits of information. I agree that there are two ways this went down. The lady from Dunlap gave a long (and probably seen as boring) description of how the numbers fell out and included information about the sub-groups. The writer grabbed a few quick words and made the quote. BAD or-----The lady from Dunlap gave the exact quote without thinking too hard about how her statement would sound the the average newspaper reader or humans in general. BAD
Or a Sharon says, they are "looking for an excuse". To many, educators have had this unstated - we can't teach them - mentality for quite some time. The Dunlapian just verbalized it.
Once again Emerge focuses on political correctness, sensitivity and feelings. Screw that. How about focusing on the problem and solutions to the problem - that is, African Americans dis-proportionally failing. Do you want to be part of the solution, Emerge, or part of the problem? Don't bother answering that. We already know.
Yeah Emerge, quit focusing on pc, sensitivity and feelings...they aren't part of the problem..they don't contribute AT ALL to African-Americans failing! Did you NOT read the "comment" section of the Journal Star's expose on the woman with six kids trying to operate a food stand on the south side??? I bet she heard of those comments and said, "Yes! The community supports my efforts! They believe in me!!!" I mean, after all, this IS Central Illinois we're talking about! (The most racist place I've lived by far) Okay, I'll stop laughing (HARD!) Emerge, thank you for always being part of the solution, as your past archives prove.....
Anon 9:54am...what a ridiculous post. While I am surely not her apologist, to suggest given the nature of her posts and obvious community involvement, that Emerge is "part of the problem" and is unwilling to be "part of the solution" demonstrates a lack of even rudimentary recognition of the expansiveness of the problem with which society is confronted. I suspect that your total solution revolves around the banal generalization that African-American parents need only to decide that their children should improve and then all will be well. Ahh, were life so simple.
Emerge, I would post the picture of Elizabeth Eckford's first day of school at Central High School to prove that you should totally get off the whole, "hurt" thing and get a life, but I'll allow certain others who have commented do so....
Emerge has not contributed to the problem in that she has done right by her own children--provided a two-parent home, etc., etc.--all the things that parents need to do to insure that their children have a good start to life. That's all most expect of parents--to raise their own children. Emerge is taking on a problem that isn't her personal problem--she isn't part of any problem. She is trying to be a solution. Sometimes I think she takes on more of the burden than she needs to bear--I say that only for her own sake because she, like so many other African-Americans, feel responsible for problems that they did not create.
"she has done right by her own children--provided a two-parent home, etc., etc.--all the things that parents need to do to insure that their children have a good start to life."
Methinks some single parents might take offense to such a statement.
Single parent here...no offense at all! Jon just makes up arguments to see his own type. He needs to "pick a different battle."
Thanks 2 Anon, I didn't mean to offend single parents--however, I was speaking to those who see that as a requirement and just pointing out that Emerge has done all that these critics of African-Americans often throw out there. Emerge isn't asking for special favors for her own children--she has seen to it that her own children have the advantages she would like others to have.
Oh 2 Anon! Stop it! You lie!! You fill the roles of both parents and you know it! Stop grabbing the glory for a silly misnomer that never existed in the first place! Really! For Shame :):):):)
We became more functional when we became a single parent family. I won't go into family details.
However, I have seen great families with both parents involved. Just didn't work that way for us.
I absolutely admire families that are happy with their lives, whether it be as a single, or 2 parent.
I'd first like to point out that Bobby Darling said that the reason that Dunlap and others were "doing so well" was because they had the "right people" in place. I didn't understand that statement then and I don't understand it now especially in light of the AYP numbers for Dunlap. I also don't understand this:
Jon you said:"Meeting AYP doesn't mean Quest, or any other school isn't doing well. It's just that they can't meet unreasonable targets (though every school should still try)."
Then District 150 failure to meet AYP isn't problematic??? Is that the correct conclusion to draw? That AYP is simply a mythical number that woks "if" everything goes well, but not too much to worry about???
Jon I know you didn't say it, but then on what basis is Dunlap "doing better" than District 150?
Emerge said:"The statement made by Dunlap Schools, hurts.
The statement Ms. Anderson made was cut and dried. If the subject matter was not equally cut and dried, she should not have made the statement.
The general public does not understand what is meant when a school administrator says to the newspaper reporter that a specific sub-group did not meet standards, therefore the school did not meet standards."
Emerge, contrary to your detractors, I AGREE 100%. I think Ms. Anderson's statements on this issue are clear. SHE left an ambiguously negative statement out there against African-American and IEP students. Her statements show a negative stance toward those two subgroups that she claims are responsible for their District's failure to meet the standard. The "devil is in the details". All this wrangling to make it seem otherwise seems ridiculous to me. I don't care who reported it. If her words are verbatim as they are, what other reasonable conclusions can be drawn. All I see is people making "excuses" for her statement. I believe that is because we can all see how flawed such statements are.
At the end of the day what is said with the statement she made? Is it to suggest that Black children are difficult to educate? Is educating Black children similar to educating children with acknowledged learning disabilities? Is that what is being said?
I think what's not understood is that with a District like Dunlap's, that many people including many 150 administrators believe is the "cream of the crop", why is it so difficult to educate African American and IEP children?
That seems to be the key. And these numbers can't be blamed on poverty, bad parenting or parent immobility or any of the excuses that District 150 has hailed. If her statements are true what is the problem and what is she really saying?
Thanks Emerge for bringing what appears to be a very valid issue to light.
Educating children with disabilities is not hard at all. Nobody in DC is understanding that we need to come to their level first, then raise their levels. You certainly don't start at their grade level and try to move forward. Most (not all) have IEPs because of the difficulties that causes achievement to take place at a slower pace.
SPED teachers should have been part of the decision-making process as NCLB was being constructed. They left behind at least one whole segment of students, and they did it on purpose by forcing them to test at grade level.
I am going to try to explain it one more time. In order to pass NCLB the whole school must be above 85% AND each subgroup must also be above 85%. Dunlaps overall was above 85 and every subgroup(that they must count) except African American and IEP students were also above 85%. That is why she said that, because it was true. THAT was the reason. Then she said that they were going to ask themselves some questions. I agree that statement is a little weird. Some could interpret it in a bad way and some could interpret in a good way.
I think when Dr. Anderson said that the African-American subgroup not meeting was a surprise and asking some questions, I interpreted it to mean that the District thought the African-American subgroup would make AYP and when they didn't it was a big surprise. I think the District was positive that the African-American subgroup would make AYP as in years past.
Under NCLB/AYP, schools are judged on a pass/fail basis. The current target is 85%. If you’re below that, say 84%, then you FAIL. Most would consider 84% a B, or at least a high C. But, under NCLB, it’s a FAILURE. I gave the earlier example of how a school could theoretically have 99% of its students meet/exceed, but one subgroup is only at 80%, and the school fails AYP. In the state of IL, for 2010/2011, one 8 high schools in the entire state made AYP, so yeah, I don’t think whether or not a school meets an unreasonable target is much of a deal – IN AND OF ITSELF. The larger point is how far away a school is from that target, and whether or not they are progressing.
I’d rather see a more broad rating of schools. Some states use a rating in addition to AYP and grade a school as A,B,C,D or F. Greatschools.net, for example, ranks schools on a scale of 1 to 10.
Mr. Burnett, said “ I think Ms. Anderson's statements on this issue are clear. SHE left an ambiguously negative statement out there against African-American and IEP students.”
If, on the one hand Anderson’s statements are “clear”, then the “ambiguously negative statement” you think she left out there must have belonged to Pam Adams’. To think the administrator controls or even previews what Pam Adams writes is laughable. Perhaps, though, I misunderstand what you meant.
NCLB AYP tells us what percentage of students reached the required level. What we don't know is what were the individual scores of the test takers. With regard to the African-American subgroup at Dunlap--would we look at the information differently if we could see a ranking of the actual scores of the individual students? Would we see that some some--maybe even a majority of the African-American students scored high compared to some who scored very low and brought the whole subgroup down?
We can't argue with the AYP results--like it or not, the Dunlap scores show that the subgroup didn't do well on the test. What we can argue is whether or not those scores give us an accurate picture of the abilities of these students. I maintain that this one test is not a good measure of the overall ability or potential of students. We are allowing this test to label students more permanently than any other past method of labeling experienced in public schools--why is that so hard to figure out?
Jon,
You said:If, on the one hand Anderson’s statements are “clear”, then the “ambiguously negative statement”
You don't understand the way I phrase it my friend. Let me clarify...her statement is CLEAR that she is blaming Black and IEP children. That is unambiguous.
What IS ambiguous is the details of how. The group and people to which she is referring are clear. The details regarding that group are unclear.
This is how a statement can be both clear and ambiguous at the same time.
Thanks for allowing me to clarify.
And I appreciate your understanding of how this data comes together to suggest things that can be totally misleading.
I think Ms. Anderson could have better clarified her statements and I still don't understand what she means when she says that this has caused them to rethink their approach. Does she mean that Black children need "extra" attention educationally? Are they not equipped for the amount and rate of IEP children. far too many questions, but that is exactly how she left it.
Pastor Burnett – perhaps I’m being overly sensitive ☺ but I do take issue with the phrase “she is BLAMING (emphasis mine) Black and IEP children.” She is stating a fact, not passing judgment.
So let’s look at some facts. Until the full 2011/12 results are posted on the interactive school report card (www.iirc.niu.edu), typically at the end of October, 2010/11 is the most recent, complete, data. Here’s Dunlap District’s AYP Report (see the link below).
http://iirc.niu.edu/District.aspx?source=AYP_Information&source2=AYP_Report&districtID=48072323026&level=D
First off, you’ll notice the District didn’t make AYP in 2011 – and the data clearly shows why – the students with disabilities subgroup were at 63.2% vs a Safe Harbor target of 75.6% for Reading and 75.1% vs Safe Harbor target of 78.3% for Math. Interestingly, you’ll notice that he Black students subgroup was at 79.8% in Reading, but still made AYP, even the though the target was 85%, but apparently that was within the 95% confidence level.
In any event, you’ll note that the students with disabilities and black student subgroups performed below other students in 2011, and you can check each year before that and see the same pattern. Again, that’s not a judgment – just a statement of fact.
I still find it odd that the administrator is criticized for not making her point more clear when, as CJ pointed out, we don’t know to what extent she might have explained the situation, but the reporter and perhaps editor, decided exactly what would be in the article (which includes much more than a discussion of Dunlap).
The administrator said “It really causes us to go back and ask ourselves questions." It’s an honest admission. They seemingly don’t know why African-American students aren’t performing as well in their district.
I GUARANTEE you the black parents who do have children in Dunlap who do meet/exceed - want clarification on the sub-group statement.
As it stands right now - in accordance to Ms. Anderson's statement - the entire African-American sub-group is not performing well in their district and they don't know why. They have the students all year long - why are they so "surprised"?
Remember this comment:
Posted to pjstar by Old Hippy
13 hours ago
"Dunlap doesn't have very many American blacks... The blacks we do have are straight from Africa and are the children of Caterpillar engineers and sales execs.... aka African intellectuals...
But, don't worry, the mayor of Dunlap and the trustees have big plans to turn Dunlap into Peoria as fast as they can so eventually we will have the low scores and street gangs too..."
_________________________________
This statement was made last year, in regards to an article about Dunlap making AYP. Again, I GUARANTEE you, African-American parents in Dunlap rue the day Ms. Anderson made that statement about the African-American sub-group.
It is unfortunate that some seem to feel that as long as Ms. Anderson is stating facts related to data derived from numbers, sensitivity to issues of community and racial indifference does not have a place in the equation.
Hi JnJ...
Thanks for reading the blog.I appreciate you keeping your judgments about what I say over on Peoria.com as you use my blog to drive hits to your spot.
If you have a problem with my "patronizing posts" remove my blog from your blog roll.
Additionally, considering the level of blogging you used to do before hubby made office, you have no room to criticize anybody.
As a matter of fact - you can consider this a formal request to remove Emerge Peoria from the peoria.com blog roll. And because you are:
"... a loving parent, sister, and Aunt to children of multiple, diverse backgrounds, I am offended by this patronizing post and her assignment of evil intent to anyone who doesn't share her skin color."
... since you are so offended by my attempts to "assign evil intent to anyone who doesn't share... skin color," you may not be checking back here, so I will follow up my request to be removed from the peoria.com blog roll via e-mail.
If you or someone else can take care of this ASAP, I would appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Oh wow, JnJ. Up late, up early with Emerge on your mind. You obviously hope to keep the "frenzy" going hoping you guys can get a few hits. Now using Jon's data driven analogy to shore up your own frenetic comments.
Since you are so highly offended, why did I even need to request that you remove my blog from the peoria.com blog roll? You should have done that immediately.
Again, remove Emerge Peoria from the peoria.com blog roll. In case you don't want to admit to seeing this request on my blog - I sent you an e-mail to your personal mail box requesting the same thing.
Let me make sure I understand this. JnJ is offended:
"As a loving parent, sister, and Aunt to children of multiple, diverse backgrounds, I am offended by this patronizing post and her assignment of evil intent to anyone who doesn't share her skin color."
Emerge is speaking out defense of sub-groups. JnJ's "children of multiple diverse backgrounds," fall into sub-groups. But JnJ is offended that Emerge's post has the "evil intent to anyone who doesn't share her skin color."
WTF is she talking about! That makes no sense!
Considering the comments the regulars over on peoria.com make, I would say that JnJ's stance taken towards Emerge and her post is laughable. Glass house JnJ. By the end of the day your regulars will post plenty for you to be offended about. Don't forget to stand up for your racially diverse loved ones when that happens.
Next board meeting is Wednesday, September 12 at 7 pm at the Unit Office on Willow Knolls. Come to the meeting and speak your peace.
Asinine. Defending a racially diverse family whose members are part of a subgroup by calling a black woman who is speaking out in defense of subgroups racist.
Emerge said:
“It is unfortunate that some seem to feel that as long as Ms. Anderson is stating facts related to data derived from numbers, sensitivity to issues of community and racial indifference does not have a place in the equation.”
I’ll take that as directed at me and reply that I said no such thing. I implied, and do believe, that Ms. Anderson’s statement was not insensitive. Sure, some people think the statement insensitive– you did – but you and I disagree on that point, on that statement – not whether or not sensitivity has a place in the equation.
The question in Sunday's PJS editorial is the one I have suggested: "What Congress believed it would gain by labeling virtually every school in America a failure is an enduring mystery, but it is what it is."
Personally, my perhaps cynical point of view is that NCLB intended to do just that--wait to see how soon a voucher system will be suggested by Congress.
Enough with the sock puppetry. I think the points expressed about this post on Peoria.com are valid points. Why isn't their a link to the Journal Star article and why is the quote attributed to the Dunlap person when she isn't the one who said it?
Why aren't Dunlap school board meetings televised?
I'm done on this subject matter.
Remember when I posted about this:
Trolling on matters of race
Well, guess what? I got caught up and responded. The attack was different, in that it was surprising and came on another blog and I happened to see it.
However, it was quite atypical:
"The Trolls spew very bitter venom. The Troll is very predictable in trying to use racism in reverse, in an effort to goad the black blogger into appearing racist for daring to be a proud, vocal, black person."
I already spoke about this being the season for Repubs to play games with race and part of that is trying to goad black folks into appearing racist by being indignant about race; but I already told you, I ain't playing. Fini
If you continue to allege racism against anyone who uses the words "African American" in a sentence, you'll continue to be called out on it. People are sick of that shit and we're not going to take it any more.
Oh my gosh, I was so incensed, I almost deleted your comment and then I remembered the lesson from Black Blogger 101:
"One could cage the Troll and treat it like the fanged SPAM it is... It's tempting, I know, but don’t do it. Let it's comment sit, on display, for all whom may read the blog may observe the black blogger, refusing to indulge a very ugly, thirsty, Racistroll, by not reacting in the stereotypical way it thinks a black person will, when confronted with nonsense about race. Black Blogger 101."
On display. Have at it.
Rev. Burnett: I can share with you some of my experience assisting students in 150.I'm no expert. This goes along with my view of standardized tests being antiquated: most of the African-American students I assisted simply had a different learning style.I'm NOT saying other students DIDN'T have different styles, it was just rare if I was NOT assisting an african-american student. I'm also NOT saying that ALL african-american students have the same learning style, which they don't,I'm simply basing this on experience as a steady classroom volunteer and former teacher. Rev. Burnett: it's my opinion that standardized tests only cater to ONE learning style, which makes them flawed. When I taught high school physics and chemistry, (and for a short while, college level)I realized that relating very abstract concepts to everyday examples hit home the best. The following sums up my experiences in 150: the first day back to school this past January,the teacher and aide were bombarded from the front office with extra tasks to get done ASAP, and they were flustered,just having handed out a worksheet about the Moon. I told them I would go ahead and go over the sheet with the class. Now, unfortunately, I'm a true geek who rarely watches TV and prefers reading books instead. (Nerd that I am, I'm currently reading "The Disappearing Spoon", a book on the "history not told" about the periodic table...)So I constantly read books that bring interest to "the dry stuff". We finished, the teachers weren't ready, so I stalled by talking about gravity on the moon. I said, "Have you learned about fractions?" Everyone said 'NO!' I said, "Yes you have!! How many of you have ever ordered and eaten a pizza??" So I sketched a pizza, shaded one-sixth of it because we were going to talk about their weight on the moon, etc, etc, etc. So we took the example about "fighting over how much pizza you get to eat" into fractions...the most amazing thing happened: the kid who was the so-called "trouble-maker" was the one most attentive and answered ALL the questions, including many the class had no idea of...we were wrapping up, and I was so proud of him that I discussed stepping off a building on the moon versus the earth and put up the equation for vertical motion dependent on gravity..this same kid caught right on and we could have gone on all day. Sadly, this same kid was removed from the school for being a behavior problem.I saw him sitting in a car next to me in the parking lot. He said glumly, "They sent me back to _________ .I wish I could be here with everyone." I knew this young man needed to pay the consequences for not obeying his teacher. My heart broke, though, because I knew he just had a different learning style. So I looked him in the eye and said to him, "You are very intelligent. Yes, you have to go back to ________, and I miss you, but don't you ever forget how well you caught on to all the things the class DIDN'T the day after Christmas break". Rev. Burnett, I wanted to home school him...I knew this kid had what it took to easily attend "Washington Gifted". And Rev. Burnett, what 2 Anon wrote is also true about kids on IEPs. It would make a real difference if the teachers in 150 had the freedom to address different learning styles. Unfortunately, THEY CAN'T. Their hands are completely TIED. That's why I also advocate for GOOD teachers, because I know they'd do it if they could, but unfortunately, they are held hostage by someone else's agenda, IMHO. Rev. Burnett, I would be interested to know if the kids you have advocated for also had "different" learning styles. Please share and thanks for reading this!
I am all for using different learning styles--especially, at the primary and middle school level. However, I believe that the various learning styles should always be coupled with reading or to "entice" children to read. Unfortunately, some material must be read--no hands on, just an imagination, etc. Some courses (science, for instance) lend themselves to hands-on learning styles. However, no child can escape the requirement of reading difficult material if he/she is to succeed in high school. And college teachers aren't going to tailor their courses to various learning styles--they will use the style most fitting to the subject and most often that will be reading (or a combination of reading and another style).
Computers are a real asset in reaching children who learn visually (and we all probably do--a picture is worth a thousand words)
The children in my life make much use of the computer to find pictures related to what they are learning.
Sharon, if I could add any comment to my previous one, it would be yours...right with you!!
Wow...deep end. You've all gone off it. Especially you, Harvey.
Hey Janet Schwarz, please use paragraphs! Your posts are very difficult to read, so I skip them!
Anon, so sorry! I'll do better..thanks for the input!
"People are sick of that shit and we're not going to take it any more" time to pick up your new talking points, didn't you hear Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider has asked Republican vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan's camp not to play his hit song, "We're Not Gonna Take It."
Snider says in a statement that he does not support Ryan and denounced use of the song, an anthemic 1984 hit for the glam metal band.
Have the test scores for all schools been posted? If so, where can I find them. I am especially interested in PPS-150.
Peoria Journal Star printed an overview of PPS 150 scores last week. You could probably find them on their site.
Dr. Anderson's comment regarding the decline in test scores for Dunlap reflects the attitude of schools that have always been high performing. The school personnel become so comforable with success that they never think that they will not be successful. They become smug and elite in their status. When a wrench is thrown in the midst, they are not prepared for a good explanation. So, naturally the blame game become evident. The explanation made was for those elite parents so the parents can believe it is not their children who are bringing the scores down but those other kids.
I am certain that the District will now pay more attention to the African-American and Special Ed sub-groups. Knowing this District, they will not take another surprise.
There is no indication from the article that there has been any decline in test scores at Dunlap. Scores can and do go up and yet for a variety of reasons a school or district won't make AYP.
http://dunlapschools.edublogs.org/2012/09/10/goal-1-to-continuously-improve-student-achievement-understanding-adequate-yearly-progress-ayp/
Dunlap's view of AYP
Wonderful. That's exactly what they needed to do.
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